Penumbra
by SimsKaida
Summary: The year is 2013. Prussia has finally got himself some new land, and is officially a country again. Odd things are happening in London, though. An island has magically appeared out of nowhere, what will happen when the entire world is in a race to get it?
1. The Longest Prologue You'll Ever Read

**London; 3:12am**

The room was dark, the only light being a small glowing spell book in the middle of the room. Two men were staring at it, one with excitement written all over his face, while the other had a sort of apathetic expression. Really it was like the beginning of some cheesy fantasy story. If anyone were to walk into the room they would have probably laughed, it was kind of odd for two grown men to be practicing 'magic' spells. It was probably a good thing, then, that the two weren't exactly men at all. They were nations. To say that they were human 'representations' of their country wouldn't be quite accurate. They _were_ the country. The fact that their human body was separate from their landmass meant nothing to them, it merely made it possible for them to be emotionally closer to their people.

The room was completely silent for a few moments. Then, the one on the right of the book looked up nervously.

"Norway, do you think this will work?" He asked, his green eyes barely visible in the darkness.

"Mm." The one called Norway gave a small shrug. "We'll see. Are you worried, England?"

England shook his head quickly. "N-no, of course not."

Norway looked at him with something that was close to amusement. "I see. Shall we get on with it, then?"

England bit his lip. "What if it goes wrong? I mean, this is serious."

Norway frowned slightly. "I don't know. No one has done anything like this before. We're creating an entirely new landmass in the middle of the ocean, there could be hundreds of consequences."

The English man laughed slightly. "But if it works ..."

Norway nodded. "We could have the chance to shape history however we see fit."

England sighed. "All right. I suppose we should finish this quickly before someone finds us."

Norway gave no visible response to this, and instead started chanting. After a moment England joined him. The room was filled with a red glow, growing uncomfortably warm within only a few seconds. Still, the two men continued chanting as the room grew warmer and warmer. Then the world started to shake violently. Books began to fall off the shelves, a glass fell to the ground and shattered into hundred of pieces. The only things that remained still were the two countries and the book between them.

All of the sudden the room flashed bright green, like a cool breeze to wash away the warmth, and then everything was still. The book between them no longer glowed. It was if the entire world had gone silent.

England took a deep breath. "I suppose we should go see the damage."

Norway nodded. "I suppose."

**Minneapolis; 9:14pm**

Nik was lying in her bed, listening to her ipod. A calender was sitting on the wall next to her. According to the object, it was April of 2013, the first Saturday of the month. She was about to doze off when she felt the earth beneath her start to shake. Her eyes widened and she jumped in shock. An earthquake? But they didn't have earthquakes in Minnesota did they? At least she was pretty sure none this bad. It figured, though. The one day her parents go out, an earthquake hits. Her ear buds bounced out of her ears. She quickly turned off the ipod and huddled underneath her blanket. A lamp fell off of the table beside her and she yelped in surprise. Oh God, the world really was ending wasn't it? Crap. She had always thought that stuff was a bunch of nonsense. She supposed it was too late to start repenting for all her wrongdoings. The shaking intensified and she cowered further beneath the blankets. This was worse than the storms, and those scared her enough as it was.

All of a sudden a burst of warmth exploded in her chest and she screamed in pain. Tears welled up in her eyes. It felt like she was on fire, and if her eyes hadn't been open she would have assumed that she was. The fire moved across her body and she felt herself stiffen. A strangled sound came out of her throat as she tried to stay conscious. Was the rapture a little late or something? Had she really been so horrible? She wondered if her parents were okay. She certainly hoped so. They got on her nerves sometimes, but they weren't bad people. She hoped her friends were alright, too. They weren't exactly angels either, but they meant well,

She barely felt the tears as they fell down her face. Images flashed through her head. Pictures of people, millions of them, but as each one passed through her head she knew she would never forget them. She knew their names, their history, their families, and somehow it felt _right_. They felt closer to her than her family ever had. Almost as if they were apart of her. Then beautiful scenery passed through her vision. Mountains, forests, lakes, valleys, cities, and as each one passed through her head she knew they were hers. She felt a kind of motherly protectiveness she had never felt before. Information flooded through her head, more information than she had thought her head could ever hold.

There was a flash of green light, and slowly the heat faded away to a comfortable warmth. Immediately she knew that something was different. As she slowly lifted herself off of the bed, she was surprised with her strength. She flexed her muscles out in front of her. Nothing looked different … but she instinctively knew she had become stronger than any weight lifter.

There was something else that was bugging her, though. She frowned lightly. This whole thing was insane, she still wasn't sure what the hell had just happened, but there was this nagging feeling inside of her. Like she was intruding in someone else's home. Which was crazy, she had lived here her whole life. A deep sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment. Alright. Something crazy had just happened, that much was obvious. That was no reason to freak out, though, right? She had survived … whatever the hell that just was. That was all that mattered. She would save the freaking out until she knew just what exactly she was freaking out about. And, logically, the first place to look would be on the T.V, right? She opened her eyes and walked out of her room, carefully scanning the house for signs of movement. There were none. Which should have been a relief, but it wasn't. Usually she at least had a couple mice in her house, but there was no signs of life anywhere. No spiders on the wall, no flies buzzing around, no mice scurrying across the floor. Nothing.

She took a deep breath and walked downstairs, each creak echoing through out the house. She passed by the kitchen, and stopped for a moment. None of the appliances were running, the earthquake must have unplugged something. She frowned lightly and made her way to the living room. The curtains were open, but there was no movement outside. Everything seemed to be in one piece, though. No buildings had been destroyed and there weren't any gaping holes in the ground. That was a plus, she supposed.

She crossed her fingers as she picked up the remote and pressed the power button. The T.V turned on and she let out a sigh of relief. Red lights were flashing all over the place and the news lady was talking very quickly.

_"...The government has informed us that a large island has been discovered in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. No signs that it had ever existed had been found before the earthquake, but scientists confirm that there's no denying it's existence."_

The remote slipped out of her hand as a picture of the island appeared on the screen. _'Home.' _A small voice whispered inside of her. _'Me.' _She felt a sort of familiarity and longing towards the island, and her heart dropped in disappointment when the picture disappeared from the screen. She still didn't know what had happened, but she knew that the earthquake was connected to that island. And she knew that somehow, she had become involved in a very big mess.

**Washington D.C; 10:30pm**

America, quite frankly, was very flustered. First of all, an earthquake had suddenly shook his entire freaking country. That was saying something, because his country was pretty big. Second of all, an island decided to appear of _nowhere. _It was a big island, too! Bigger than England! Not only that, but apparently it was populated. How did you _miss_ an island like that? Thirdly, there was a country in America other than himself. He didn't recognize this country _at all_ which really freaked him out. Most of the time he could tell which country had decided to visit him, but this one was completely foreign. There was this nagging feeling inside of him that insisted on connecting the island with this presence. Which was silly. Wouldn't the island's human representation be on the island? Why would it be in America of all places? Unless it was just because he was that awesome, because he would understand if that was the case. ...Unless they wanted to take over his country with their secret alien technology.

He paled. He had to call England! He would know what to do, right? After all, he always claimed to see weird things. Maybe he knew something about this. He quickly picked up his phone and dialed the number he knew by heart.

It took a few rings before America heard his favorite grumpy British voice on the other end.

"'Ello?"

"Hey, Arthur!" America exclaimed brightly.

"This better be important, git." England replied testily.

"I dunno." America shrugged. "I'd say an island appearing in the middle of the ocean is pretty important."

There was a second of silence. "...What do want?"

"Well, I thought since your all weird with all your magic stuff, that you might know something about it." He replied cheerfully.

There was a small noise of anger on the other side. "I don't know anything about that, git! It's probably just some abandoned chunk of land, some sort of Bermuda Triangle thing."

"Nuh-uh, It's inhabited." He replied with a nod. "And I think it even has a human representation."

There was a long silence. "Wh-what!"

"I can feel it, and I would know if it was one of the other countries." His tone turned nervous. "What is it doing in my country, though!"

There was an even longer silence, and he could hear another voice muttering on the other end. Something about connecting something to reality? Who the hell did England have over at his house?

"I don't know anything about the bloody island, Alfred. Go to sleep."

America huffed lightly. "Yes you do! I can tell when your lying!"

He heard England scoff. "And if I did why would I tell you?"

"Because I'm a hero!" Was the immediate response. "And hero's always know what to do, so you should tell me the problem so I can fix it."

"There is no problem! It's just an island."

America frowned. "It's not, though! I know that and I know that you know that, too."

"Why do you care so much, anyway?"

"I told you! It's in my country and I don't want to be taken over by freaky alien technology!"

England sighed. "You have that bloody alien of yours, don't you? Have him protect you."

"Arthur..." He whined.

"Bloody hell." England cursed a little more under his breath. "Well, I suppose I have to tell you, since it _is_ at your house." Silence. "Actually, do you know if it's a boy or girl?"

America frowned and closed his eyes for a second. "... Girl, I think. Young, too. Probably has the physical form of a teenager?:

England sighed. "Poor kid. Well, ah, I don't know how to say this. But me and Norway had an idea. We found a spell that might allow us to create a country in a location of our choice. So we planned it all out, chose the location, and some vague details about the country. We figured that if we created it with advanced technology and medicine, we could use the country for our own purposes before anyone else found out about it. It took weeks of planning of course, and we finally tested it out not half an hour ago." A small sigh. "It was a success, of course. Except we didn't plan on the earthquake or whatever the hell that was, or the fact that the rest of the world would find out so quickly. And we definitely didn't plan on it having it's own representation, _or_ the fact that said representation was a former member of your country."

America spluttered in disbelief. "Alright, I was almost believing you before. But, what!"

"Shut up and let me finish!" England growled. "Norway says that in order for the country to be real and not just an illusion, it has to have some tie to reality. Something that was naturally a part of this world. If we had known about this before, we could have chosen who we wanted to play the role. But as it is, a probably random person was chosen. Or maybe they fit the role the best, I don't have any bloody idea."

There was a moment of silence on America's side this time. "... So if I'm gonna believe you, and I'm gonna because I'm a cool guy, then there is currently a confused country with superior and beneficial technology wandering around in my country?"

"Alfred!" England snapped. "Don't you dare take advantage of that poor girl!

"Hey!" America defended. "You were going to do the same thing, right?"

"That was before I learned about her!"

"The way I see it, it changes nothing. She is a country with priceless knowledge, and whoever gets to her first could ah, persuade her to give that knowledge to them."

"Alfred!" England yelled in disbelief. "I raised you better than that, you bloody git!"

"It's not like I would _hurt_ her. Just make her ally herself to me."

"Afred!"

"Whoops, looks like I got to go! See ya later!"

With that, he hung up the phone. He was faced with a once in a lifetime opportunity here, and there was no way he was going to pass it up. The only problem was finding the young island. He frowned lightly and picked the phone back up. Time to make a few phone calls.

**Moscow; 7:30pm**

It took about an hour for the news to spread around the world. A large island had appeared in the middle of the ocean that was apparently populated and highly educated. It refused any attempt of communication with the outside world, and blocked any foreign objects from getting to close. Rumor had it that England and Norway had something to do with it's creation. But what was more important was that it had priceless technological and medicinal knowledge, _and_ it's representation was currently sitting unprotected somewhere in America.

Only the vague information had been broadcasted on television of course, but rumors have an odd way of spreading through the countries. Norway told the rest of the Nordics shortly after the whole thing happened. England told no one other than his siblings. But once something reached America there's no keeping it a secret, even if his original intent _had_ been to keep the whole thing quiet. See, America told Canada, thinking his brother didn't have anyone to tell the secret to. But Canada told Cuba and Prussia. Prussia told his brother and Hungary. Hungary told Austria who told Switzerland who told Liechtenstein. Germany told North Italy who told South Italy who told Spain who told France and Belgium. Belgium told her two brothers. Holland told Japan who told Taiwan and Greece. Greece told Turkey. Taiwan told Hong Kong who told China who eventually spread the information throughout the rest of Asia until it finally fell upon Russia's ears.

And Russia was _very_ interested.

In fact, he had just gotten off the phone with his boss who was also very interested in the situation. After a short conversation, it had been the general decision that getting a hold of the country would be strongly beneficial to Russia. And since it was impossible to get to the actual landmass, the only option left was to obtain the girl. Apparently she was young and confused, an easy target. His only real challenge would be to get to her before the other countries. But in the end he would have her no matter what. Because when Russia wanted something, he got it.

The only problem was actually finding her. America was a large country, though not as large as himself, and she could be anywhere. He wasn't even sure what she looked like. He did have spies in the country, though, and he had sent an order to immediately report any information they found on the subject to him. Right after issuing the order he had bought himself a set of plane tickets to America, starting in the northern part of the country. He had chose the location for no other reason other than the fact that it was early spring and he would be more comfortable in that region.

A creepy smile slowly spread across his face. It would be so nice to have another person living in his house again. All the others had left him, but this would be different. The power he would obtain from capturing the girl would be more than enough to ensure that no one could ever take her away from him. And it would be so wonderful to see the look on America's face when he stole her from him. A dark 'kolkolkol' sound echoed throughout the room. And when he had all that power, the first thing he would do would be to _destroy_ America.

The creepy smile was still stuck to his face as he picked up the phone and dialed his sister's number.

"Hello?" A heavily accented Ukrainian voice answered.

"Hello sister!" He responded cheerfully.

"O-oh, brother!" She replied happily, if not a little hesitant.

"I know, I know. You are not supposed to talk to me, da? But I just need a small few favors from you."

"I-I don't know ..."

"I promise I will erase any debt you have to me."

There was a stunned silence on the other end. "What do you need?"

"Call Natalia and the Baltics and tell them to come to my house in two hours. You need to be here too." A soft kolkolkol escaped his mouth. "We're going to America."

_Side one. ROF (Russian Occupation Force). Six members._

**London; 4:30am**

"I can't believe that stupid git!" England yelled. "Does the brat have no decency!" He slammed his fist against the wall. "She's an innocent girl for heaven's sake!"

"Oi!" Scotland scowled at him standing in the doorway to the living room. "What the 'ell is your problem? Some of us are trying to sleep."

England scoffed. "America." He stated simply, as if that explained everything. And it usually did.

Scotland rolled his eyes. "What did the brat do this time?"

"He plans on taking advantage of an innocent country so he can steal her technology."

Scotland raised an eyebrow. "I thought 'e was supposed to be the 'hero'?"

England sighed and then scowled. "I thought so, too."

There was a moment of silence and then Scotland frowned. "Well?"

"Well what?"

He rolled his eyes. "What the 'ell are you doing sitting around 'ere?"

England looked up at him, confused. "What the bloody hell am I supposed to do?"

Scotland sighed impatiently. "Save her, you dumbass! C'mon, let's round up the crew."

"Wh-what?" He blinked in shock.

"Are you stupid? We're gonna save the poor girl. 'm bored and this sounds interesting." He grinned. "Get your things ready, 'cause we're 'eading to America."

_Side two. BRP (British Rescue Party). Five members._

**Berlin; 5:30am**

Four nations sat in Germany's kitchen. Germany sat at the head of the table, a serious look on his face, a gun at his side and many others hidden on his person. Prussia sat next to him, grinning like an idiot, though the look was made much more dangerous by the gun he held in his hand. Hungary sat across from him, a small frown on her face. Instead of the usual dress she was wearing a much more casual outfit consisting of a t-shirt, jacket, and jeans. Countless weapons were hidden inside of the jacket. Austria sat next to her, looking slightly uncomfortable. He was the only one who didn't have a gun on him.

"I think you all know by now what we're doing here." Germany started.

"To kick some American ass!" Prussia exclaimed, interrupting him.

Germany kicked him and then coughed. "We're here because an island has been found in the middle of the ocean. According to semi-reliable sources it has very advanced technology, but it's people are rather naïve when it comes to the outside world." Prussia scoffed at being called a 'semi-reliable source'. "The island itself is very well protected, but it's representation is not. In fact, she is very new to being a representation and probably doesn't even know what she is yet. We believe this has something to do with England and Norway. The how is not important, however. What is important is the boost our countries would receive if we were to … acquire such technology. If you two will agree to help us capture the country, we will split the land and people equally with you."

There was a silence in the room. Prussia sighed impatiently, and Germany glared at him.

"I'm in." Hungary said suddenly.

Austria frowned slightly and then nodded. "If Hungary shall, then so will I."

"Pansy." Prussia muttered under his breathe, receiving a glare from said Austrian nation.

"Then it's settled." Germany said with a slight smile.

Prussia grinned. "Alright, then! To the plane of awesomeness!"

Hungary grinned also. "Come on, Austria. This'll be fun."

Austria still looked uncertain, but he just nodded.

Germany stood up, and gestured for the rest to follow them. "It should be a short flight to America, but we still have to hurry."

Prussia was already at the door, holding it open. "Ja. So come on men, we have to go!" He thought for a moment. "You can come too, Austria."

Austria huffed indignantly and Prussia just cackled, running out the door with Roderich following him. Germany rolled his eyes and walked out the door with Hungary, who wasn't sure if she should be offended at being called a man.

_Side three. GAD (German Annexation Division). Four members._

**Rome; 5:35am**

Spain, and the Italy brothers sat on the floor, the atmosphere in the room considerably less tense compared to the rest of the world. If you didn't count the murderous intent coming from Romano, that is.

"Alright." Romano began, slapping away Spains hand for the tenth time that night. "So, we don't have nearly as much military power as the rest of the nations, so we're going to have to improvise. Let's think, what are out strengths?"

Veneciano perked up. "Pasta~!"

Romano whacked him irritatedly. "No, you idiot! Think! The island is a _girl_, right?"

This time it was Spain who perked up. "Love!"

Romano smiled. "Right. She's a girl, not only that but she was _human_ not that long ago. It should be easy to get her to fall for one of us."

His brother frowned a little. "But, Fratello, wouldn't that be mean? Using her like that?"

He shrugged. "All's fair in love in war. It's just harmless flirting, anyway."

Spain tilted his head. "Can we call France?"

Romano glared at him. "No! We are not going to get that bastard involved."

"But Romanito! France is good at these kind of things." Spain complained.

"Yeah? Well we're better." Spain was still looking at him like a hurt puppy so he sighed. "Call him. But he's for backup only, he's not an official part of our team."

Spain grinned like the idiot he was.

Romano scowled in annoyance. "Alright. Spain, you go get the plane started. Feli, you go get our stuff. There's no way we're loosing to a bunch of idiots."

"Si, romanito!" Spain replied happily before skipping out the door.

"D-don't call me that, bastard!" Roman called after him turning a nice shade of red.

"Si, Fratello!" His brother replied cheerfully before running upstairs.

Romano sighed. His team was filled with idiots, but they were romantic idiots that attracted a lot of girls. They had a good chance at this.

_Side four. MLL (Mediterranean League of Love). Three members.(3.5?)_

**Washington D.C; 11:40pm**

"What! C'mon, Mattie! What do you mean you don't want to?" America whined over the phone.

"I told you already! I-I don't want any part of your ridiculous plan!" Canada half-yelled.

"But, Mattie!"

"No!"

"But now that all the other mean European countries know they're going to come and try to take her away from me!"

Matthew groaned. "Why do you have to get yourself into these messes?"

"Hey! This time it's not my fault!"

"This is ridiculous, how are you going to even _find_ her?" Matthew asked.

"Dude, she's in my country, I can sense her. I know she's in the northern part so I just drive around until I find her." He stated confidently

Matthew sighed. "...I don't think your plan is gonna work, Alfred."

"It'll work better if you help me! So just come on down here, what harm could it do?"

"Other than ruin an innocent girl's life?"

"I'm not gonna hurt her!" He defended. "Just talk to her! She doesn't know any better, it'll be easy to get her to be my ally! And then I'll even protect her from the bad guys like the awesome guy I am!"

"Fine." Matthew replied hesitantly. "But if you hurt her I'm out of this."

Alfred grinned. "Awesome!" I'll see you in an hour, then?"

"Sure."

He heard a click, and smiled before setting down the phone. It was hero time.

_Side five. ARS (American Retrieval Squad). Two members._


	2. Penumbra

**Minneapolis; Monday, April 8****th**** 2013, 1:00pm**

Nikola was suddenly very glad she sat in the back of her Science class. It wasn't that she didn't like the class, she liked it quite a bit. She just didn't want the teacher to notice how little she was actually paying attention. It wasn't her fault, though, really. Ever since that night … It was just so hard to concentrate on anything. She felt so weird. There was a constant feeling in her gut telling her that _something was wrong._ That she didn't belong here, that she needed to _leave. _She was constantly on edge, sitting at the edge of her seat in case she needed to make a quick escape, though she didn't understand what she would be running away from in a school as boring as hers. She blamed it all on the earthquake. It had just shaken her up a bit, that was all. In a few days everything would be back to normal.

She had no way to explain the dreams, though. She had been told once that most of the things in your dreams were based off of something you had seen before. But she dreamt of far away lands that were completely foreign to her, and yet they felt so _familiar_. Every time she woke up she would be filled with a longing to be back in the dream. It was _home_. Or that was what her heart was telling her. Maybe she was going crazy? She would tell her parents about it, but they would just blame it on the earthquake and sent her to a trauma counselor or something. She had never actually told them about that night. They had called her as soon as they could, telling her that they would be home in a few minutes and asking her countless questions. She had answered them the best she could. Yes, she was okay. Yes, the house was fine. No, she couldn't see any damage. Yes, the T.V was working. When her parents had got home she had told them the entire story, excluding the part where she had felt she was burning. It wasn't like she was trying to pretend it had never happened, she doubted she would ever be able too, she just knew her parents would make a big deal about it. And it probably _was_ something to make a big deal about, but Nik was kind of weird like that. She hated telling anyone when she wasn't feeling well. If she felt she could handle it herself, she would.

Then there was the island. Just the thought of it made her heart flutter. Really, it was like being in love with a piece of land. _"Penumbra. Penumbra. Home. Safe. Penumbra."_ It was a constant whisper in the back of her head. The government had said many times that they weren't able to make any communication at all from the island other than receiving one message that simple read: "Leave us alone." They had no idea what the island was called. But a small feeling in her gut told her that was silly. Of course the island's name was Penumbra. Just like the sky was blue and two plus two equaled four, the island was Penumbra. She had slipped up a few times while talking with her friends, referring to the island as Penumbra in conversation, but instead of them thinking she was crazy, the name just kind of stuck. It had slowly spread throughout the school during the day, and now if you asked anyone about the mysterious island, they're response would be something like "Oh, you mean Penumbra?"

A small sigh escaped her lips. She rested her head in her hand and stared at the board. A quick look around the room showed that she wasn't the only one not paying attention. No one had been paying much attention to school at all that day. The earthquake and the island had been the only thing anyone talked about. The weirdest thing was that it was obvious something had happened, but no one could find the start of the earthquake. It had been a _huge_ event, spreading into several other countries, but there was no center point. Of course there were always the conspirators who insisted it was aliens and that the government was hiding something important, but Nik only believed one of those two things. And it was no secret she thought aliens were a bunch of nonsense.

"_Well,_" The teacher announced from the front of the room, sounding a little annoyed. "Since it's clear none of you are paying attention, what do you all think of this mysterious island?"

"Penumbra!" One of the kids from the other side of the room, and she felt a smile tug at her lips.

The teacher also looked amused. "Yes, I heard about your nickname for it. Quite original, I'm actually impressed. Does anyone know what a Penumbra actually is?"

"It's the imperfect shadow around the Umbra." A kid stated from the front.

The teacher smiled. "Correct. Now since-" All of a sudden the phone started to ring. He frowned for a moment before going to pick it up. She watched as he listened to whatever the person on the other end was saying. His expression slowly turned from annoyance to shock.

"A-alright. They'll be there right away." With that he put the phone down and faced the class uncertainly. "N-now class." He coughed to try and clear the nervousness from his voice. "Some very important people want to talk to you in the auditorium. You need to make your way there right now."

The room exploded with hundreds of questions all at once. The teacher merely raised his hand to call for silence. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Just … go."

Nik was sitting right next to the door so she was one of the first students to get out. Once she was out, though, she stopped, her mouth dropping into a small 'o' shape. A few students ran into her and started to get angry, before they noticed what was going on and fell into a shocked silence.

Standing in the halls were countless government bodyguards and military officials. "O-oh my God..." She murmured softly.

Her friend, Eric, came to stand beside her. "Holy shit, Nik, what the hell did you do this time?"

She punched him in the arm lightly, but it must have been harder than she intended, because she saw him wince. "Shut up, that was only one time."

He shook his head slowly, and grabbed her arm. "C'mon, we better go get some good seats, this is gonna be intense."

They made there way to the auditorium which was actually pretty close to the Science room, and managed to get front row seats.

"So, what do you think is up?" She asked Eric as students quickly filed into the room.

"I dunno, it's gotta be big, though." He replied, looking kind of nervous. She didn't blame him, though, her heart was beating uncomfortably fast. Something about this felt _wrong_. She had the irrational urge to run out of the room, but she managed to force herself to stay seated.

"Hey, are you okay?" Eric asked, looking at her. She nodded in response.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just getting sick." She lied. He frowned a little, but let the subject drop.

All of a sudden the lights in the room dimmed and all the students looked up at the stage expectantly as the principal walked up to the podium. Conversation died immediately. You could practically _feel_ the tension in the room. Guards were posted at every exit and she started to feel claustrophobic.

He coughed a little nervously. "Well, um, ladies and gentleman. A very important person would like to have a chat with you. P-please welcome the President of the United States."

At that even the crickets fell silent. Her eyes went wide and she gripped the armrest tightly. She looked over at Eric who also looked shocked. Holy shit, what _had_ happened?

A woman walked up to the podium next, a face she had seen thousands of times on T.V, but actually seeing the President in person felt so unreal.

"Hello students." She smiled warmly around the room. "I know all the guards may have scared you, but please don't be afraid. I'll make this as quick as possible and we'll all be out of your way as soon as we can."

Nik felt a sudden shot of adrenaline shoot through her veins. _"America. Enemy. Danger. Close."_ The voice whispered to her, even though she didn't have a clue what the hell that was supposed to mean. She was _in_ America, why would she be in any danger? She was probably becoming schizophrenic, wasn't she? The worst part was that she was starting to _listen_ to the voice.

"As you all know, an earthquake shook large parts of the earth this Saturday. Our studies show that there were two spots where it was the worst. Around the the newly discovered island, which I'm sure you've all also heard about, and here."

Her heart started to speed up again, and the room went blurry for a few seconds. _"Penumbra. __Penumbra."_ The voice whispered again. She needed to leave _now._

"So we will spend a few weeks around the city doing small checks. Please do not feel alarmed if you see any of the military personnel around, they are not here to harm anyone."

_"Lies. Lies. Lies. Danger."_ The voice kept whispering as she bolted out of her seat to the nearest exit. The man stationed there tried to hold her back, but she pushed him back, and was surprised when he actually staggered back a little. She sprinted out of the door to the nearest trashcan and started to dry heave into it. After a few seconds she felt someone rub her back and whisper comforting words to her. She was sweating and it felt like she was on fire, though not as bad as it had been on Saturday. Tears fell down her face and as soon as she was done she began to whimper. She felt the person who had been rubbing her back sit down and lean her against them. When she looked up she saw a man in a very official looking uniform. They sat there for a few minutes until Nik stopped crying.

The man wiped he tears away and spoke to her in a gently tone. "Are you okay now?"

She nodded hesitantly and he smiled at her.

"Good. You look pretty sick, though. How about we take you to a doctor? We brought a pretty good one with us when we came here, he's just outside."

"N-no, I'm f-fine." She managed mumble and slowly sat up.

He grabbed her arm, a slow frown appearing on his face. "Miss, I really think you need to see a doctor."

She jumped back from his touch, still on edge from whatever kind of fit she had just gone through. Whatever had set her off was still there, though. She had no clue how close it was, but she knew she couldn't stay here much longer. All the armed men around weren't helping her panic attack.

"Please, miss." He pleaded with her. She stood up slowly and took a step back.

"N-no."

He grabbed her arm again. "Ma'am-"

"_No!_" She screamed at him, jerking her arm back quickly. "Leave me alone!"

She ran away from him, heading towards the nearest exit. She dodged all of the security guards that tried to grab her. One of them managed to grab her hand, and she used her free one to punch him in the face. She watched in awe as he let go and staggered back. She saw the others talking quickly on their phones, and she started to sprint again. A flash lighted up the room and she looked to her right to see one of the guys had taken her picture. Great, she was going to end up on some wanted list now, wasn't she?

One of them pulled out their guns and her eyes widened in terror. "Don't hurt her!" One of the others yelled, and he reluctantly put his gun down.

She didn't even know why she had started running, she hadn't done anything wrong, so they had no reason to hurt her, right? Well now they did, but they didn't before. Adrenaline does weird things to you, though, and she wasn't thinking clearly at all. She felt like a caged animal with panic flooding through her. The only command her brain was sending was _'run'_, so that's what she was doing. She finally exploded out of the door and onto the city streets, quickly blending in with the crowd.

There was actually quite a few people hanging around the school, though she supposed that all the fancy official looking cars had something to do with that. It didn't help that she was trying to move in the opposite direction of the crowd. She scowled as she pushed past people, trying to get as far away from the school as possible. They wouldn't actually follow her out, though, right? She was only a teenage girl, surely they had better things to be doing. She pushed past one guy, and he violently pushed her back. She scowled at him, but decided it wasn't worth starting anything and kept running.

As she moved through the street, the crowd slowly thinned. Soon there wasn't anyone at all and she started to pick up speed again. It figured, everyone who wasn't at work was going to check out what all the commotion was. It was probably the most excitement her city had seen in a long time. She felt herself slowly relax and her hypersensitivity slowly fade away. The dangerous presence was still there, but as she kept running she could tell she was getting farther away from it. The whole thing still made her nervous, though. Especially since she didn't even know what she was running from. She didn't know where she was running _to_ either. All she knew was that she was pretty sure she had a hell of a lot more stamina than she should. She had been sprinting for awhile now, and was only starting to feel tired.

Then she felt it. It was similar to whatever she had felt before, but it definitely wasn't the same. This presence was much darker, and much closer. As she rounded a corner she ran into it. Literally.

With a small huff she fell to the ground and looked up in fear. A tall man with light blond hair was standing before her, staring at her with violet eyes. At first he looked annoyed, but after a second his eyes widened as if he had suddenly recognized her. She didn't understand how, she had never seen him before in her life. He smiled creepily at her, and all she could so was sit there, frozen with terror.

"I found you~" He exclaimed childishly, his voice not fitting his appearance at all.

"I-I think you have the wrong person ..." She mumbled softly, finally regaining her ability to talk.

"Nyet." He shook his head. "You are _definitely _who I am looking for."

She frowned lightly. Nyet? Wasn't that Russian or something? She wasn't sure, she had never been good with languages. "I d-don't know who you are, sir."

That just made him smile more. The creep. "No, but _I_ know who _you_ are, da?"

Now _that_ she was sure was Russian. But, what? How the hell did he know her? "U-um, what?"

"I can explain it to you, but not here." He tilted his head slightly, and offered her his hand. "So come with me, da?"

She looked at his hand for a moment, and even considered grabbing it, but she had a really bad feeling about this guy. He just _screamed_ evil. "No thank you, sir." She declined politely. "M-my mom told me to never go with people I don't know."

Something flashed in his eyes and the smile disappeared in an instant. "I would rethink your answer if I were you." She swallowed nervously, suddenly wishing she was back in the crowded section of the street. At least there someone would come and help her. Right now they were far enough away from the crowd that no one would notice her screaming.

She slowly stood up, the man watching her carefully as she did so. She sighed, pretending to look defeated, and watched as the man started to smile again. Then she suddenly dodged around him and started running away. She sprinted as fast as she could down the street, but no matter how far she ran, she could hear him running right behind her. What was up with everyone chasing her today? She tried to run faster but she was terrified she was gonna trip or something. Because that would definitely be her luck.

"It's no use running~" He called from behind her. She stiffened, alarmed with how close his voice was. "Mother Russia will always find you in the end."

The moment of pure confusion she felt after that last statement caused her to falter for a second. But a second was all he needed. He grabbed her hand and used their momentum to swing her into the side of a building. She hit the brick wall with a sickening crack. Stars danced in front of her eyes and she felt something warm running down the side of her face. Before she could fall to the ground, though, the man grabbed her neck, pining her against the wall. His grip was tight, but not tight enough to completely cut off her air supply.

"S-stop." She gasped. "P-please stop!"

He just laughed at her, his expression filled with a sick sort of joy. "Nyet. You are mine now, da?"

"Let go of her, ya bastard!" A heavily accented voice called from her left. Her captor quickly looked towards the voice only to be hit in the head with a metal baseball bat. He let go of her, whether it was from shock or pain, she wasn't sure. She stumbled forward and a hand quickly reached out to steady her. "Whoa there lass, careful."

She looked up at her savior. He was tall, taller than her at least, with deep orange hair. He grinned confidently at her. "I'd love to introduce my self and all, but it looks like your friend over there is pretty mad." He pointed towards the blond male. "I think we should be making our leave now, eh?"

She nodded in agreement and they both quickly ran away, though this time it didn't seem like the other guy was following them. Maybe he was scared of the redhead? That seemed unlikely, the blond seemed like he was much bigger. She supposed you couldn't judge based on looks, though. They ran through the streets, making turns here and there before they finally slowed down. The redhead kept looking behind him like he expected someone to be following them, but after awhile it became obvious that they were safe. For the moment at least.

He turned to look at her and smirked. "Well, I think we're far enough away now. Might as well get introductions over with. The name's Angus, or Scotland if ya prefer."

She blinked in confusion. "Scotland? Isn't that a country?" Hadn't the other guy claimed to be a country, too?

He frowned slightly and thought for a moment. "Sure is. I'd explain it, but I think Artie would do a better job."

She thought about asking more, but decided to drop it. This guy saved her life, and while she felt the same type of presence around him as she had felt with the other guy, this guy seemed perfectly safe. So she supposed she would trust him for now. "Nikola, but you can call me Nik. Who's Artie?"

"Nice to meet ya, Nik." He nodded at her politely. "Artie is my little brother, England."

She frowned, another 'country'. Still, she would save her judgments until this England person explained things to her.

Angus took his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll call 'im right now."

It was silent for a few moments. "'Ello, Artie. Hm? 'Course I found her! Why else would I be calling?" He laughed a little. "Yep, I'm serious. Nearly lost 'er to Russia but she's safe. We're right next to that old book store you were lookin' at. Mind pickin' up Seamus and then swingin' around to get us?" There was a moment of silence and then he hung up the phone.

Nik looked at him curiously. It was sort of odd how she had immediately refused to go with Russia (she had nothing else to call him), but didn't really mind going with this guy and his brother. He _had_ saved her, but he was still a stranger. Plus he was a guy a good few years older than her. She didn't have anywhere else to go, though. At least not until the whole thing at the school calmed down.

"Eh. My family is a bit weird." He told her after a few seconds of silence. "Thought I should give you a heads up. Suppose it's better than being stuck with that creepy Russian and his family, though."

She shrugged. "They can't be that bad."

He started to laugh right as a silver van pulled up to them. "I'd save the judgment till _after_ you meet them if I were you."

The door of the van swung open and a boy with orange hair that was slightly lighter than Angus's popped his head out. "Jump in!" He exclaimed cheerfully. "Prepare for a bumpy ride, though. Tara's a terrible driver."

"Hey, you brat!" An angry female voice called from the front. "I'm better than you!"

The boy just laughed and offered his hand to Nik. "C'mon in, we don't bite. Well, Tara does, but I'll keep ya safe from her."

There was more angry grumbling from the front, and Nik hesitated a second before taking the boy's hand. He pulled her in and gestured for her to sit next to him. He looked back out at Angus.

"Sorry, you're going to have to sit in the back." He smirked. "Pretty ladies come first."

Angus scowled and entered the van after her, choosing a seat in the back. "If there wasn't a lady present I would hit ya."

Nik frowned lightly as the boy closed the door again. "Step on it, sister! I don't want any Russians to find us sitting out here." The van zoomed forward suddenly causing her to almost fall out of her seat.

The boy looked over at her and grinned. "M'names Seamus. Ireland. The crazy girl in the drivers seat is Tara, my sister, North Ireland. The grumpy guy in the passenger seat is my brother, Arthur, also known as England. And you've already met Angus."

She looked up at Tara who smiled and waved at her, almost hitting a pedestrian in the process. She looked a lot like Seamus, only with a few less freckles. Arthur turned around in his seat to give a small smile and polite nod. He was the only sibling with blond hair, and while the whole crew had rather large eyebrows, his were the biggest. Then he sent a look at Angus in the back.

"What did you do to her?" He demanded. "She's bleeding!"

Nik blinked in shock. She pressed her hand to her head, wincing as it touched the wound. It had been bleeding alright, though not so much anymore.

"I told you! I had to save her from the damn Russian!' Angus defended.

Arthur sighed and started digging around in the front of the vehicle. He turned back towards her and handed her a towel. "Here you go."

She took the towel and pressed it to her head. "Thank you."

Arthur looked at Angus. "How much did you tell her?" He asked.

"Nothin'. I would probably only confuse the poor lass." Angus shrugged and frowned a little.

Arthur sighed and turned to look back at her. "I know this is going to be a little hard to explain, but you'll have to believe it sooner or later." He paused for a second. "I don't even know where to start. I've never actually had to _explain_ this before. You heard Seamus introduce us, right? Everyone of us has a country name for one simple reason. We _are_ countries." Nik frowned at this, but didn't interrupt. "We were born with our country, we live with our country, and we'll die with our country. That's really the only way we _can_ die. If our country dies, so do we. Otherwise no wound could ever come close to killing us. Some things will hurt like hell, sure, but it wouldn't kill us. The guy you met before? That was Russia."

He stopped, waiting to see her reaction. She frowned. It was all so unbelievable. Countries? They all looked like normal people to her. People that probably belonged in a insane asylum, but still people. "April fools, right?" She asked hopefully.

Seamus shook his head. "Sorry, lass. It's all true."

She sighed. That feeling in her chest was back. She knew they were telling the truth, she didn't know how she knew, but she knew. Still, she needed to have some last shot at keeping everything logical and explainable. "How?"

England shrugged. "How did any of the world come to be? No one knows."

It was silent for a few seconds. Then her eyes widened as something occurred to her. No. Nonono. That was impossible, right? Panic flooded through her. She didn't want this.

_"Penumbra. Penumbra."_ The voice whispered to her again. _"Home."_ It was as if it was willing her to believe. Even though it had to be impossible. As the thought passed through her head, she knew it wasn't. It was the only thing that made sense even if it made no sense at all.

She looked up at England. "Penumbra. I'm Penumbra."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Quick update is quick. Sorry in advance for any spelling mistakes.

Reviews make me happy. So review away~


	3. Gunshots and Car Chases

**Minneapolis; 3:00pm**

England nodded. "Correct. You catch on fast."

Nik frowned. "But, how? I think I would know if I was born a country, and none of this started happening until a couple days ago."

"None of what started?" Seamus asked her.

She turned to look at him and paused before explaining. "It started the day that big earthquake hit. Something weird happened that night, I felt like I was on fire." She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She didn't like the fact that everyone was staring at her (Even Tara, who was driving, and she was pretty sure that was dangerous). Especially since she had just learned they were all big powerful countries that were probably centuries older than her. "After that … I felt weird. I had the sudden feeling that I didn't belong here, even though it's been my home my entire life. I started to dream about the island, I have the constant urge to be there. I can _feel_ it." She shook her head and then looked back to England. "Why? What happened to me?"

He suddenly looked guilty. "I suppose that's my fault."

Tara snorted. "Suppose? It's entirely your fault. You and that Nordic guy's fault, anyway."

He sent her a sharp glare. "Shut up." He coughed lightly and then turned his attention back to Nik. "You see … Me and Norway have been studying magic for a long time. One day while we were researching we came upon some interesting information. We came to the conclusion that theoretically it was possible to create a new country, though it had never been tried before. So of course we tried it ourselves." He took a deep breath. "It worked, the 'earthquake' you experienced was the aftermath. It was much more violent where you lived because, for a reason no one knows, the spell chose you to be the island. We didn't even know that there was going to _be_ a representation for the island. When America called me complaining about you, I was completely caught by surprise."

Nik blinked in shock. "How did he know about me?"

"Nations can sense each other, surely you've noticed it by now."

She nodded slowly, that would make sense. "So … The presence I felt back at school. That must have been America, right?"

Tara gave her a sharp look, nearly ramming into the car in front of them in the process. "The brat was at your school?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. He was close, though." She frowned. "I take it you don't like him?"

Tara snorted. "If you met him I doubt you would either."

"He's loud." Angus commented from the back.

"And annoying." Seamus added.

"Don't forget a complete imbecile." England snorted lightly.

"He can't be _that_ bad … can he?" She asked. The thought of her (former?) country being so unlikeable was weird. She was so used to everyone praising the nation and sticking flags up everywhere. Actually … now that she thought about it, that was probably more than enough of a reason for him to be unbearable.

"Nah. He's just a bit … childish." Arthur said, causing Tara to snort. "And he has a rather large ego. But he _is_ trying to catch you and use you for his own selfish purposes so I wouldn't defend him too much."

Her eyes widened. "I- ..._Why?_"

"Because he's an asshole." Seamus stated calmly, and Angus nodded in agreement.

Arthur shushed them. "Because you would be a very … _profitable_ asset to him."

"Why-" She began before images started to flash through her head. Hospital rooms like none she had ever seen before. People recovering from horrible diseases in days. Pieces of equipment she was sure most doctors had only dreamed about. People sitting around casually with phones and computers she would have _killed_ to own before. But she instinctively knew that she wouldn't have to, because it was already _hers_. It was all hers. It was all _her_. The images didn't stop, though, and she started to feel warm like she was having another fit. The van disappeared and all she could see was the images flashing through her head. There was an intense pressure building at her head and her limbs felt like they were _burning_. For a moment she felt like she was going to explode, and she screamed out in pain. She could vaguely feel someone holding her.

"Ssh, lass. It's okay, it's okay. You're gonna be fine." They whispered soothingly to her.

"Dammit, Artie, what the hell is happening to her!" She heard a female voice yell.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Another voice yelled back. "She'll be fine, you just have to wait for it to pass. Quick, take a right turn up there and pick up Merfyn."

The images slowly faded away until every was black. She whimpered lightly at the pain while the voice above her kept whispering soothing words to her. It took a few minutes, but the pain and pressure slowly lifted away. She managed to open her eyes (though she didn't remember ever closing them), and saw Seamus looking down at her.

"Ya had us worried for a second there." He smiled in relief. "You feeling alright?"

She nodded slowly. After a few seconds he let go of her and moved back to his own seat.

"So what exactly _was_ that, Artie?" Angus asked, sounding more than a little annoyed.

"She turned into a nation overnight, Angus. Her body is still trying to get used to the change. She'll probably go through a few more fits until she's entirely used to it." Arthur replied.

"Why?" She asked softly, she picked up the towel that had fallen on the floor during her fit. Her head had pretty much stopped bleeding by now, so she set it down next to her.

Arthur looked confused. "Why what?"

"Why me?"

He shrugged, looking troubled. "I already told you, I don't know. No one does."

"Can you undo it?" She asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "No. Not without killing you." He gave her an apologetic look. "You're stuck with this life until the bitter end."

"What am I going to tell my family?" She frowned deeply. She doubt her parents would ever believe the true story.

It was silent for a few moments. "You can't." Arthur finally replied.

"Then what am I supposed to do, I mean it's not like I can hide-"

"No." Arthur cut her off firmly. He bit his lip, his eyes looked at her regretfully. "You can't see your family anymore."

She felt her heart stop. "Why!" She asked angrily.

He just shook his head. "It wouldn't be safe. Being a nation is dangerous."

"They're my family!" She shouted. "Why the hell can't I see my own parents!"

"Your a _nation_. I don't think you understand what that _means_. It's not like it's a job, it's your _life_. The public can absolutely not find out about us. You're not going to age, Nik. People would get suspicious. Not only that but your parents are _American_. You're not anymore. You don't belong here."

Those last words hit her like a physical punch. _"You don't belong here." _She blinked away tears. Seamus tried to reach a hand out to comfort her, but she slapped it away. "They're my _parents_." She whispered.

Arthur shook his head again. "Not anymore."

She felt herself freeze. "What do you mean!"

"You're not a human. You're Penumbra. You are an island, a country. Countries don't have parents. You don't even share any DNA with them anymore."

She felt tears start to fall down her cheeks. "Why?"

"I'm sorry-" He started.

"_Why!_" She screamed at him. "Why did you do this to me! I didn't ask for this!"

"None of us did." Angus spoke up from behind her.

She had nothing to say to that. The van came to a sudden stop, and she watched Seamus open the door. A brown haired guy who was barely taller than herself entered the van and sat down next to Angus. He blinked, noticing the tense atmosphere in the car.

"Did I miss something?" He asked as Tara drove off again.

Seamus snorted. "Oh, no. Nothing at _all."_

_ "_Hey! I was just asking! No need to get sarcastic with me." He responded with a huff. Then he noticed Nik staring at him. He smiled at her. "'Ello there, pretty. Merfyn, also known as Wales, at your service." He mock bowed at her.

She smiled at him, wiping her tears away. "N-nik. … Penumbra." She added as an afterthought. "Nice to meet you, too."

"They haven't been too mean to you, have they?" He asked.

Angus snorted. "Artie made her cry."

Arthur muttered something, but didn't bother to argue with him.

"Artie makes me cry sometimes, too." He nodded jokingly at her. She laughed at that, which made him smile.

"Bloody hell, Tara!" Arthur exclaimed suddenly, and she felt the van swerve sharply to the right to avoid hitting a bicyclist. "I think you should let someone _else_ drive for awhile."

"Nonsense." She barely blinked at the almost accident. "I can drive fine."

Arthur appeared to be turning a very nice color of green. "You've almost killed _seven_ people. That is _not_ what I would call 'fine'!"

Nik's eyes widened slightly as they fell on the speedometer of the car. She quickly put on her seat belt.

Angus laughed. "It's times like these where little things like 'immortality' and 'diplomatic immunity' come in handy."

She looked back at him, about to ask how he could be so calm, when she felt a sudden jab at the edge of her mind. Fear started to build in the pit of her stomach. She saw Angus stiffen, too.

"Oi!" He yelled to Tara. "Right turn, quick!"

"Gotcha!" She yelled back, and made such a sharp right turn that the van very nearly tipped over. "Russian bastards at 6 'o clock! Prepare for bumpy ride, guys!"

Nik grabbed her seat tightly. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what Tara's definition of a 'bumpy ride' was. _"I don't want to die. I don't want to die." _She thought over and over, her eyes frozen open in terror as the speedometer slowly inched past the 100 mark. Then she remembered what Arthur had said earlier about not being able to die. _"I don't want to be brutally mauled. I don't want to be brutally mauled." _She quickly glanced out the back window to see that they were indeed being followed by a black van. While the van she was in right now was rather new and fancy, the one following them looked it could be used to hide bodies or something. She couldn't see inside the other vehicle very well, but she confirmed that the driver was the man from earlier, and that there was a smaller girl sitting next to him. Turning back around, she tried to swallow down her panic, but it wasn't working very well.

"Why are they chasing us?" She asked no one in particular, a note of hysteria creeping into her voice.

"You." Arthur replied calmly. "And trust me, out of all the people probably looking for you, they are the ones you want to be caught by the _least_."

"Speed up!" Angus yelled, watching the van from the back window. "They're gaining on us!"

Nik had fantasized about being in a car chase many times before, the movies made it seem like it would be so much fun. Sitting in a van that was going highly dangerous speeds being chased by a psychopathic Russian, she decided she much preferred watching them to being in them. She didn't even know which was a greater threat, their pursuers, or any oncoming walls.

She was about to ask how they were going to lose them, when loud gunshots exploded around the car. She screamed, closing her eyes in the vain hope that it would all disappear and she would wake up in her bed, a normal human who still believed countries were just big masses of land.

Someone poked her shoulder. "It's no use closing your eyes." She hesitantly opened them again, and looked over at Seamus. "Pretending they're not there doesn't make 'em go away."

"Nah, only way to make someone disappear is to shoot 'em back." Angus commented, grinning like he was _enjoying _all of this.

There were more gunshots, this time coming from much closer. She looked to the front of the van in shock to see Arthur hanging slightly out the window holding a gun of his own. He quickly dodged back in when the other van started shooting again. Nik took another glance back at the enemy van to see a rather pretty girl pointing a gun at them. No matter how pretty she was, though, didn't change the fact that she looked scary as hell holding that gun. Her ice blue eyes were narrowed in anger and determination, and Nik winced as more bullet bounced off the side of the van.

"Are they trying to kill us!" She asked incredulously.

"Nope." Merfyn replied. "They can't."

That thought didn't comfort her any. She didn't really have any desire to be shot, whether she would die or not. All of a sudden she heard a buzzing noise in her pocket. She frowned lightly before taking her phone out and hitting the 'accept call' button.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Nik! Where the hell are you!" Eric asked her, sounding worried and a little annoyed.

"This is a _really_ bad time, Eric." She quickly steadied herself as the van took another sharp turn.

"What's all that noise? Are you being kidnapped or something?"

"No." She answered, annoyed. "...Ask me again in ten minutes and my answer may change, though."

There was a moment of silence. "You better be kidding."

"Look, I can't talk to you right now." She took another glance out the back window. The van seemed closer than it had been before. Shit.

"Why not? Are those _gunshots_!"

"_Eric-"_ She started to plead before the phone was snatched out of her hand. She glared at Seamus who simply turned the phone off.

"No calls." He said simply before tossing it back to her.

"You do realize he's going to think I really _am_ being kidnapped now, right?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"If you're worried about the police, don't be." He shrugged. "We can take care of 'em easy enough."

Arthur got a lucky shot and there was a loud bang as one of the Russian's tires exploded. The enemy van swerved out of control, and they managed to speed off, leaving the Russians far behind. Nik let out a sigh of relief, and sunk down in her seat. Her heart was still felt like it was beating a hundred miles per hour.

"Gotta admit, Artie, that was the most bad-ass thing I think I've seen you do in a long time." Tara commented with a grin.

Arthur blushed lightly, putting the gun back in the glove compartment. "Shut up."

"'ey! That was compliment." She complained.

"Take a right there." He pointed out a turn up ahead. "We need to get out of here."

"Oi, Artie." Seamus snapped his fingers to get his brother's attention. "We need to make a stop in the next town or somethin'. The lass aint looking too good." He nodded towards Nik.

And to be fair, if she looked as bad as she felt she probably looked pretty terrible. She didn't feel like she was having a fit or anything, more likely just going into shock. She shifted a little in her seat and the world started to spin.

Tara nodded. "We'll stop at some fast food place or something. The girl probably needs something to eat."

Arthur frowned. "It would probably help if we weren't going ninety bloody miles per hour. _Slow down._"

Tara grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." She eased her foot off of the gas a little.

Seamus looked at Nik. "Might as well get a little rest. It'll take at least fifteen minutes to get to St. Paul."

She nodded a little before closing her eyes. She hadn't realized how tired she actually was until then. She heard someone turn the radio on, there was a small fight about the station, and then the van was peaceful again. Within a few seconds she was fast asleep.

**St. Paul; 4:15pm**

As the van drove past the sign informing them that they had entered the state's capital, Arthur turned around to look at the rest of the passengers. The girl had been fast asleep for awhile now. Her auburn hair stuck to her face a little, but other than that she appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Three minutes into the drive, Merfyn had thought she looked uncomfortable and had reclined her seat a little for her. Seamus had fallen asleep a couple minutes afterwards. He was curled up in his seat with his head resting against the window in a rather uncomfortable looking position. Angus had no such concerns for his brother's comfort, and had spent the majority of the ride staring out the window. Merfyn had found a book on the floor and had begun to read it without much enthusiasm. Tara had gotten bored, and every so often the van would swerve a little much to Arthur's annoyance.

"Where are we stoppin' to eat?" Tara asked after a couple seconds.

"Anywhere but McDonald's." Was his immediate answer. Just the thought of Alfred's ruddy heart stopping pieces of filth he liked to call burgers made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

"Subway." Angus called from the back, and Merfyn expressed his agreement.

"Subway it is." Tara announced, taking a (surprisingly smooth) left turn.

Arthur frowned. "Do you even know how to _get_ to a Subway around here?"

She shrugged. "No clue. I'll figure it out eventually, though."

Arthur sighed in annoyance. "Take a left up there, I think I saw one on our first trip through here."

Tara complied and soon enough they were pulling into a Subway parking lot. She shut off the van and turned around to smack Seamus's leg. "Wake up or we'll leave ya in here to starve." That seemed to do the trick quite nicely. Seamus woke up with a start, giving his sister a quick glare. He took a look outside and frowned.

"Subway?" He asked, skeptical.

"It was that or some trashy fast food place." Tara defended. "And we don't have a whole lot of time."

Seamus sighed. He made no further comment, though, and shook Nik gently. She groaned, shifting around in her seat before finally opening her eyes. Light brown irises scanned the stopped car in confusion, before stopping on the Subway building outside.

"Subway?" She asked.

Tara's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You got a problem with the restaurant choice, too?"

Nik quickly shook her head, eyes widening slightly. "N-no!"

"Good." Tara nodded, and opened her door. "Well, let's get going, then. We don't got all day."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Good God, Tara, no need to scare the poor girl." He followed his sister's lead and got out of the car, the rest of the crew following behind.

Angus ran his hand over the side of the van, frowning at the dents the bullets had made. "'m sure we look pretty suspicious. Not to mention the money it's gonna take to fix up the van."

"Oh, quit your whining." Tara rolled her eyes. "We've got more important thing to be worryin' about in case you hadn't noticed."

Tara and Angus bickered about the importance of the van the entire way into the building. Arthur sighed deeply, it had been a long day. The worst part? The day wasn't over yet.

The other three walked at the back of the group. He glanced at them, watching as Seamus made some witty comment, which made Nik burst out laughing, and even Merfyn smiled a little. Almost every eye in the building was watching them as they made their way up to the counter. Which wasn't surprising. They were collectively the strangest, loudest and most suspicious group of people in the place. He just hoped they could get out of here without getting the cops called on them. It wouldn't be the first time. As they got in line there was more arguing about what sandwich was the best. The pros and cons about the different types of bread, cheese and meat were discussed in heavy detail. Which was ridiculous because they were all allowed to get their own bloody sandwiches anyway.

He swore it took them ten minutes to get through the line. _Ten minutes_ to get six simple sandwiches. Angus got his sandwich without much fuss, but proceeded to try and dictate what he thought Nik should get (apparently she had only been to Subway on a select few occasions), while Seamus argued vehemently with him. Merfyn even put in his own comment here and there. Eventually it became less of what they thought was best for Nik, and more of just stubbornly arguing with each other. Tara and himself stood at the end of the line. He stood there in silent annoyance, while Tara yelled at the others to shut the hell up.

Eventually it was Nik who snapped. "You guys!" She yelled. "I can decide for myself!"

After that the line moved fairly quickly, with only slight grumbling from Seamus. They chose a booth in the corner that was about as far away from the front of the place as possible. It took a lot of arguing and fighting (big surprise) to get them all to fit in one booth, but they eventually managed. In the end, Arthur, Angus, and Nik sat on the side closest to the wall, while Merfyn, Seamus, and Tara sat across from them.

Arthur watched in awe as Nik started to devour her sandwich. Seamus noticed this, and, eyes narrowed in determination, attempted to try and finish his first. It became a sort of silly battle, coming down to them both having the last bits of sandwich stuffed in their mouth in a desperate race to see who could chew faster. With a triumphant grin, Nik swallowed the sandwich, and slammed her hand on the table.

"Take that!" She yelled, laughing. "I win!"

"Not fair!" Seamus exclaimed, mouth still full of food. "You got a head start!"

Tara slapped his arm. "Don't talk with food in your mouth, pig."

"Nag, nag, nag." Seamus mumbled, chewing and swallowing the rest of his food.

The door opened and a cold wind blew through the building, making Nik shiver. Merfyn looked at her in slight concern.

"You cold?" He asked. "I got a jacket in the van you could wear."

"Would that be okay?" She gave him a grateful look.

"'Course." He nodded. "I'll go get it for you."

She shook her head. "Don't. I can go get it."

He frowned lightly, then shrugged. "If you're sure. It's in the back."

Nik was sitting at the end of the booth, thankfully, so it was easy for her to get out. Arthur watched her leave, getting a sudden bad feeling, but shrugged it off as paranoia.

The table was silent for a few moments, which was immediately a bad sign. Angus looked away for a moment and suddenly there was a pickle stuck to his face. He glared daggers at the other side of the table, holding the offending pickle in his hand. Apparently he thought Seamus looked a little too innocent, because he suddenly chucked it at him. However, Seamus had enough sense to see it coming, and dodged, causing the vegetable hit Merfyn instead. Merfyn glared at Angus, who attempted to apologize before receiving a piece of lettuce drenched in ranch in his face. He growled in anger, before throwing his bag of chips at his younger brother. Merfyn just laughed as it hit him, accidentally knocking his soda onto Tara. And then all hell broke loose.

Food started to fly everywhere. Soda, chips, pieces of bread, tomatoes, it was all fair game. By the time one of the employees told them that they had to calm down or get kicked out, which took longer than usual, mainly due to the fact that most of the people in the place were afraid of them (that may or may not have to do with the fact that they had driven up in a van with bullet shaped dents in it), they all had ranch stains on their clothes and pieces of tomato and lettuce in their hair. Angus had to restrain Tara from murdering Seamus, and Arthur assured the poor employee that they would be calmed down in a few minutes.

Once all death threats had ceased, they made their way to the bathrooms to at least attempt to clean up. Arthur scowled as he looked in the mirror. His hair was an absolute _mess_. Not that he usually spent too much time trying to keep it nice, but he didn't have any idea how he was going to get the ranch and mustard out of it. Angus took one look in the mirror and immediately started to splash water onto his hair in an attempt to wash it. The four guys all took turns doing this until they were all satisfied that they looked as decent as they ever would. Merfyn started a small water war with Seamus, which Arthur had to break up. Thought, in the end, it admittedly got everyone involved a little cleaner.

They picked off a few stray pieces of meat and lettuce of of their clothing and exited the bathroom. Tara was already waiting for them, looking annoyed.

"I thought girls took a long time getting ready?" Seamus asked, annoyed that she had beat them.

"If you hadn't spent more time messing around than actually washing yourself off, you might have beat her, git." Arthur scolded.

Tara glanced at the clock sitting on one of the walls. "You guys took half an hour in there. I was thinkin' about just leaving you."

Merfyn frowned. "Half an hour?"

"Yeah." She frowned. "Why?"

"Did Nik ever come back in?" He asked.

Tara shook her head, looking worried. "Shit. No, I haven't seen her."

Arthur's eyes widened, and he felt himself start to panic. "Half a bloody hour, and you didn't even think about her!"

She glared at him. "I was in the bathroom myself half of that time! Maybe she came in, didn't see us, and went back to the van?"

Arthur cursed under his breath. "One of you guys take care of the bill, I'll go out and check on her."

"I can take care of it." Tara said with a sigh.

Arthur nodded at her and half-ran out of the store. Once he reached the van, he threw open the door and felt his heart drop.

Nik was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I never actually notice any of my typos until the chapter's already up and I can't do anything about it. Drives me crazy.

And I had to make a mental effort to remember to call it soda instead of pop. Because I do believe that is what the majority of people call it.

Your reviews make me so happy~ I love them. So keep sending them in. :) ... Please?


	4. Unlucky Encounters

**St. Paul; 4:35pm**

She pushed the door open and slowly walked out into the chilly night. A shiver ran up her spine as the wind hit her. It had gotten cold in the short time they had been in Subway. Giving a glance up at the sky, she noticed several dark clouds to the west. Her gaze slowly fell back down to the earth. She hoped it wasn't going to rain. Her shoes echoed lightly across the parking lot as she walked, her eyes remained locked on the ground, no matter how many pairs of eyes she felt on her. It was as if they could tell she was different. Or maybe she was just being paranoid. After all, she was headed towards the most suspicious vehicle in the parking lot. A small chuckle escaped her lips. She must seem either really suspicious, or a victim of a kidnapping.

_'I wonder if there's a search party looking for me, yet,' _she wondered, rubbing her arms lightly in an attempt to warm them. Russia was probably still looking for her; he didn't seem to be the type of guy to give up so easily,. Would the police be looking for her? If they were, would it be their own decision, or under America's orders? A small sigh escaped her lips. It still felt so odd to refer to the country she had spent the majority of her life calling home as a living breathing person. She wondered what he was like. Was he proud and brave like his citizens made him out to be, or was he be immature and childish like his fellow countries described him?

_'Would my people be proud of who I am … or ashamed of me?'_

The thought made her pause for a moment. She had no idea where it came from, but it was a perfectly reasonable question. She didn't have centuries of experience of being a nation like most of the other countries did. She was just a teenage girl. An extraordinarily _average_ one at that. She didn't have the qualifications to be a low level politician, let alone be responsible for the safety of millions of people. The idea was insane

_'Penumbra. Home. Mother.' _The voice whispered to her again, and she was overcome with an overwhelming sense of protectiveness. No matter how unqualified she might be, they were her people. Her's and no one else's.

"Miss … are you alright?" A young woman asked hesitantly, looking very concerned.

Nik jumped a little, turning to look at her, a small blush forming on her cheeks. She was sure she must have looked crazy just standing in the middle of the parking lot like that. At this rate she'd be drug to the insane asylum before any of the countries found her. Attempting a small smile, she gave the woman a polite nod.

"Y-yeah, I'm just tired," she assured her. The woman paused, about to argue with her, before finally deciding against it. She gave her another hesitant look, before nodding and slowly walking away.

Nik sighed, running a hand through her hair. She should probably hurry up and grab the jacket before the others got worried. Jogging to the van, she slid the door open, wincing at the slight creaking noise it made. They had gone pretty hard on the poor thing. It might not make it through another encounter with the Russian van. She hopped inside, crawling into the back seat. It was messy, but not in a bad way. The mess gave the van '_character'_ as her mother would say. Her lips turned up into a small smile. Considering the family the van belonged to, it might explode if it had any more character.

After a few moments, she spotted the blue jacket tucked into a corner. She grabbed it and backed out of the van, closing the door with a heavy thud. The jacket was a little big for her, but as soon as she put it one she felt an immediate difference. It blocked out the late afternoon chill quite effectively.

With a small, content sigh, she started to turn around when a firm hand landed on her shoulder. She froze, amber eyes widening in shock. The most reasonable conclusion would be to assume that Arthur or Seamus or one of the others had come to check on her. She had been taking an awfully long time to get a jacket. But she knew it wasn't them. Her heart beat erratically inside her chest, her mind was telling her to get out of there, but she couldn't move. The presence she had felt at the school was back, but much, much stronger this time. How could she not have felt it earlier?

"Whoa there girly," a male voice spoke from behind her. "I aint gonna hurt you."

Nik almost cringed. Did she detect a hint of a _southern_ accent to his voice? Out of all the things to to pass her mind at that moment, she found enough time to be disgusted that her former country's accent leaned more towards being southern than northern.

"I just want to talk to you," he told her, tugging a little at her. "My name's A-"

She turned around and shoved his hand off of her shoulder, effectively cutting him off. "Leave me alone!" Her voice cracked slightly at the end, betraying the fear she felt. There was nothing on the tall blond country's face to suggest that he was dangerous or that he held any ill will towards her at all. But since she had become a country, she had gained an odd sort of instinct, one that told her that this man was dangerous, even if he didn't mean to be.

"Aw, come on~" He pouted slightly, his blue eyes betraying only child-like disappointment. "You're not even going to give me a chance to talk?"

"No," she responded without sympathy. "I already know what's going on. I'm not interested in having anything to do with you at the moment."

"But I'm your country!" He exclaimed, as if he couldn't believe that anyone wouldn't want to be with him. "You have to feel something towards me!"

"Not anymore." It wasn't a lie, either. She didn't feel anything other than fear when she looked at the proud, albeit a little childish, man in front of her. Had she met him a week ago she might have felt awe and adoration, but he meant nothing to her now.

He sighed. "You sure? I don't really want to kidnap you."

The moment he took a step towards her, she was in motion. Her fist struck out and landed in the center of his face, making him stumble back a couple steps. Without waiting to see any further reaction, she was out of there as fast as her feet would take her. She had to make it back to Arthur. The building was only a few feet away when an object suddenly appeared in her path. She ran into it and lost her balance, landing on the hard ground with a small 'oof'.

"I-I'm sorry!"A soft voice exclaimed. She looked up in confusion only to realize the thing she had run into was a person. He looked a lot like America, but there were striking differences between the two. Unlike America, everything about this guy seemed soft and gentle. Looking into his purple eyes, she almost felt herself relax.

"Don't apologize, Mattie! Grab her!" The much louder voice yelled from behind them. Nik glanced back to see that America was running towards them. Her eyes widened and she quickly stumbled back onto her feet, sprinting away from the two. She had no idea where she was going. Arthur and the others were still in the building and would have no idea where she had gone. She could only hope that they'd find her eventually. She knew the city well enough, she could find somewhere to hide out at for awhile.

As soon as she made the turn around the back of the building, she froze. An all too familiar van was sitting out in the street, not ten feet away from her, with a noticeably new tire. She nearly cried in frustration.

"It has been awhile, da?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: ... Well, after a few months, I've decided to try and start writing chapters again. I'm so very sorry this one took so long, and that it's so short.

Forgive me?


	5. Confrontations

** St. Paul; 5:00pm**

** "**How on Earth did I lose the girl in a bloody Subway!" Arthur yelled out to no one in particular. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. After all, she was just a girl. There was no way she could have gone too far in the, what, half an hour since she had left? … Had they really been in there that long? Who was he kidding? Nik could be long gone! Someone should have gone with her, he knew it wasn't safe for her to be out by herself with the entire bloody world looking for her!

"What the hell are you doing here, commie bastard! I saw her first!" A familiar voice could be heard faintly from where he was standing.

Emerald eyes widened in shock. He could hear a small commotion happening not that far away, probably just behind the shop. He still had time to save the poor girl! He hesitated, glancing at the building where his siblings still were. After a moment he decided that he wasn't going to be too far away, they would be able to find him easily enough. Besides, the girl needed him more at that moment. So, with a look of determination, he ran off to where he could still hear the voices, praying that they hadn't hurt her.

"Nyet. I do believe I saw her first," the Russian responded to America's earlier comment.

England arrived at the scene a couple seconds after the words were spoken, stopping a foot or so away from America and his brother, whose name he could never quite remember. Russia was standing a few yards in front of America, and Nik stood between them. She looked terrified, and kept sending nervous looks at the groups fighting over her, as if she couldn't decide who she should be more afraid of. A quick look at the van behind Russia told him that there were at least four more people in there, waiting to jump out and help if things fell out of Russia's favor.

"No way, commie!" The American exclaimed, sending a glare at Ivan. "She's been living in my country for years! I have first dibs on her!"

"But you hardly acknowledged her existence until today," Russia pointed out. "Her and I became … _aquainted,_" at that point he smiled creepily at Nik, "several hours ago."

"So? I bet you she'd rather be with me than you, you creepy bastard."

"What she wants is not important."

America scowled. "And _that_," he declared, "is why nobody likes you."

Russia snorted lightly. "Do not play the hero here. You are not any more concerned with the girl's feelings than I am."

America's eyes narrowed in anger. "I don't have to 'play' the hero, you stupid commie. I'm always the hero, a _real_ one."

"And yet you are trying to kidnap an innocent girl?" Russia tilted his head, a small smirk playing at his lips. "Do not get the wrong idea, I couldn't care less about your motives. I just think you should figure out what they are before accusing other people of being the villain, da?"

"America ..." A soft voice spoke from beside the loud blond, who was too angry to hear him. "Alfred … _Alfred …Alfred!"_ He yelled suddenly, causing his brother to jump.

"What do you want, Mattie?" He asked. "I'm kind of busy here."

"I think Ivan is right."

America froze, disbelief written clearly on his face. "Wh-what? How could you side with the crazy Russian over the hero?" A pause. "And when did you start calling him Ivan?"

"You said you weren't going to kidnap her," he replied, ignoring the questions directed at him. "What happened to 'gentle persuasion'?"

"We're not kidnapping her," America explained as if it should be obvious, "We're saving her from the Russians."

"You were willing to kidnap her a few minutes ago _before_ you knew Ivan was here," Canada pointed out.

England turned his attention away from the brotherly argument in time to see Russia make a grab at Nik. The girl, thankfully, dodged the large man, but it was clear he wasn't going to just give up.

"Get your filthy hands away from her!" England yelled at him, causing Russia to look up at him in surprise. The auburn haired girl took the chance to put some distance between her and her attacker, sending him a grateful look.

"Arthur!" She exclaimed, sounding relieved to see him.

"England!" The next person to shout his name sounded much less excited. "What are _you_ doing here? I thought you didn't want her!" America stared at him suspiciously, obviously doubting his motives.

"Unlike you, git, I'm actually trying to protect the girl." He gave the girl in question a quick glance to make sure she was still alright. "As soon as we can get out of here, I'm taking her to her _home._"

"But she can't survive by herself!" America argued. "She needs a stronger country to protect her, and like the hero I am, I volunteer to do it!"

"Git!" England yelled at him, glaring. "You just want her land and technology. Don't deny it!"

America growled in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone seem to think I'm such a selfish asshole today?" He yelled back.

"Because you are! I must have messed up somewhere when I raised you- _Russia don't you dare touch her_," he suddenly hissed.

Russia, who had been about to grab at the girl again, froze, sending the arguing pair an annoyed look. Canada was staring at the violet eyed country nervously, as if he wasn't sure whether he should try and stop him or not. Russia turned to look at him, and an unspoken conversation seemed to pass between the two. Ivan nodded once slowly, and took a step away from Nik, who sighed in relief.

"I think," Russia began, "that if you two are so concerned about her, you should stop arguing and actually pay attention to her, da?"

England and America turned around at the same time. America sent a glare at the Russian, while England made sure that that Nik hadn't been hurt while his attention was elsewhere.

"I know everyone said they were so interested in my opinion," Nik began, more than a little sarcasm slipping into her tone, "but I want to go with England."

"You can't seriously want to choose that boring old man over me, can you?" America asked, almost looking hurt.

"I am afraid that this girl will be coming with _us_," an icy voice broke into the conversation. Nik's eyes widened as she felt a gun press against her head and a set of sharp nails dig into her arm. Her face went a deathly shade of white. She knew she couldn't die, but doubts tend to creep into one's head when they have a gun pointed at them.

"Thank you, sister," Russia said with a light smile.

England stared at the situation with a horrified look on his face. "Th-there's no need to bring a bloody gun into this!" He complained. "She's just a girl!"

"I do not care," Belarus responded. "She is a country, and she will belong to my brother."

"Like hell she will!" America yelled out, a look of rage on his face. "You commies need to stay out of this!"

Russia smirked, a look of cold triumph stuck on his face. "It's a good thing we are not communist anymore then, da?"

"Once a dirty communist, always a dirty communist," America growled at him.

"Ivan … " A soft, hurt voice called out from America's side.

Russia did no turn to look at the Canadian male as he spoke. "Come with us, Matvey."

Canada shook his head, looking pained. "Ivan, I can't."

"_Matvey."_ The Russian almost pleaded, turning to stare at him. "We can be strong together, da?"

Canada bit his lip, looking like he wanted to cry. "I-I'm sorry, Ivan."

"Stop brainwashing my brother!" America demanded angrily. "You'll make _him_ a dirty communist, too!"

"Stay out of this, America!" Russia spat out America's name like it was the worst insult he could think of.

"No! He's _my_ brother, and I don't want _you_ hanging around him!" He sent an evil glare at the Russian.

"Maybe you should let your brother make his own decisions, da?" Russia replied, his eyes narrowed and his tone icy.

"I know him better than you do!"

"Do you?"

"What are you implying, you stupid, filthy, rotten-"

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP?"

Everyone was silent. Even Belarus had a look of thinly disguised shock on her face. Canada was trembling with rage, tears falling down his face. America made a move to comfort him, but his hand was quickly swatted away.

"I don't need your help, America," he told his brother, his voice surprisingly calm.

"But I'm you're br-" America started, only to be cut off by the Canadian's glare.

"I don't care! Ivan's right." At this a look of outrage passed across America's face. "I'm my own person, Alfred, whether you like it or not."

"You're going to choose that _commie_ over-"

"He's not a communist!" Canada argued, sounding disgusted. "Get that through your thick skull! And even if he was, why would it matter?"

"Because he's bad for you!" America argued, eyes filled with rage and hurt.

"Says who?"

"Me!"

"Who made _you_ king of anything?"

America snarled at his brother, clenching his hands into tight fists. "I'm only your brother. You know, the guy that's been there for you since before any of those Europeans!" He snorted, before turning away. "Whatever. You obviously don't want to be here, I shouldn't have drug you along. You can go home now."

"Brat!" A sudden screech interrupted the tense conversation, causing all eyes to move to the two girls. Belarus had dropped her gun and was now clutching her right arm, blood dripping off of it onto the ground. Nik glared at her, her foot placed firmly on the gun and blood stains on her hand.

"If you _ever_," she began, a sort of vibe radiating off of her that could never come from an ordinary teenage girl, "talk about my country like that again, I will _destroy_ you."

Belarus sneered at her, though a hint of fear did pass across her face. "Like you could, you stupid little brat."

"Nik!" England called down to her, looking worried. "Just drop it, it's not worth it."

Nik glanced between Belarus and England for a couple seconds before slowly picking up the gun and jogging to the Englishman's side. The anger slowly faded from her face, and she suddenly looked very tired. England had to help keep her up, whispering that they would get out of there soon.

"This is not over," Russia promised, a deep scowl on his face. "Do you really think you can keep her safe? Almost all of Europe is currently in America at this most, looking for her." With that he turned around, pausing a moment before he reached the van. "Matvey … call me if you change your mind, da?" With that, he and his sister entered the van and drove away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Another short chapter. Again, I'm sorry.


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